


Brotherhood and BFFs

by sying



Category: Generation Kill
Genre: DADT, Established Relationship, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-25
Updated: 2011-08-25
Packaged: 2019-03-12 16:40:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13551390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sying/pseuds/sying
Summary: "Hotdamn, Poke. Real Cubans?" Ray inspects the cigar in the fading light of the warm summer night. They're out on Tony and Teresa's back porch celebrating the arrival of Bella; long awaited and much hoped for second baby of the Espera family.





	Brotherhood and BFFs

**Author's Note:**

> Repost.
> 
> Written for the Shit Is On: A Ray/Anyone Fic Fest at LJ, for the prompt "Ray & Poke, smoking cigars".
> 
> Disclaimer: this is a non-profit work of fiction based on the HBO miniseries and its characters as portrayed by the actors.

"Hotdamn, Poke. Real Cubans?" Ray inspects the cigar in the fading light of the warm summer night. They're out on Tony and Teresa's back porch celebrating the arrival of Bella; long awaited and much hoped for second baby of the Espera family. Brad's inside because he doesn't like to smoke so Teresa asked if he wanted to give Bella her bottle and now he's trapped in a corner of the couch, baby on one arm and big sister Rosie who wanted to "help uncle Brad" on the other side.

"Real Cubans," Poke confirms while lighting up.

"Who the hell did you blow to get these?" Ray isn't much of a cigar smoker usually but he takes his first drag and god, it's good.

"Blowing for contraband is your style, Person. Don't be projecting your degenerate ways on me. I've got my own, disease-free, ways." They settle against the porch railing, looking out over the garden. It's a nice garden if you can look beyond the kid toys littering it, it's looking better than Brad and Ray's with their three out of fifteen surviving bushes anyway.

"Come on, Poke," he asks again. "You know you can tell me." He takes a drink from his whiskey which is almost as good as the cigar is. Damn, Poke should have babies more often, he thinks.

"Yeah, I don't think so, white boy. I tell you and the next thing you know my ass is hauled off to jail and you're making off with my cigars, my wife and my kids. Although from the looks of it back there, the Iceman might beat you to stealing the kids," he says referring to Brad making googly eyes at the tiny newborn baby.

(Before, they were standing bent over the crib and Brad's face was soft and lit up when the baby grabbed his finger. "Look, Ray," he said, his voice matching the look on his face.

"Yeah, I see," Ray said surprised and barely able to look away from Brad's face until he suddenly became aware that Tony and Teresa were still in the room too and he was clutching the teddy-bear they brought as a present and Jesus Christ, this girly stuff was Marine unworthy. So he thrust the bear at Teresa and made funny faces at the baby until Brad told him to stop scarring the baby for life.)

"He better let me know before I pay my half of the month's rent so I can move out. I didn't sign up for a room-mate with kids."

Poke takes a drag from his cigar and narrows his eyes. "Uh-huh." Like he knows something he shouldn't. Fuck.

"I have to say, Poke, you're continued racial paranoia is astounding. So much distrust when it comes to the white man and yet here you are observing all the old colonists' traditions. Handing out cigars to celebrate the birth of your baby and drinking whiskey. Tell me, do you even own a bottle of tequila?"

"Dawg, didn't they teach you anything in that backwater, hick town high school of yours? Tobacco originally came from South America and then that European sailor started handing it out to every--"

"You know there are a lot more fun websites on the internet than Wikipedia, right?" Ray cuts him off, waggling his eyebrows.

"Fuck you," Poke says, scowling. Ray thinks that probably means he can't get past the childproof software Brad had installed on their computer when Rosie got interested in using it. "My point is that if I stopped doing and buying everything the white man has appropriated throughout the centuries, I'd be a miserable, piss-poor motherfucker."

Ray nods thoughtfully. "On the other hand, " he holds up the cigar, "addictive cancer sticks. How proud can you be that was yours to begin with?"

Poke shrugs. "I guess you could see it as payback. And it's a bitch."

"So is childbirth judging by the way you look. How's that even possible with Teresa actually doing all the hard work?"

Poke laughs. "She's a tough one, dawg, I can't even tell you. I just sat there mostly holding her hand and I'm exhausted. I don't even want to think about the sleepless nights ahead and the relatives coming tomorrow." Then a wide grin appears on his face. "I am the happiest motherfucker in town though."

His happiness is infectious and Ray smiles, clinks Poke's glass.

"What about you, Person? Having a BFF becomes you guys." He smiles slyly.

Ray sputters in his glass. "BFF? Fuck. Are we teenage MySpace girls now?"

Tony puts on that 'I'm about to surprise you with imparting great insight' look he has sometimes. "Look. I know you two and he needs a friend around to make sure he doesn't become some cranky, nerdy loner who snaps one day, climbs the town's clock tower and starts shooting people he's not supposed to be shooting."

Ray rolls his eyes but Poke ignores it. "And you need someone to look after you to make sure you don't waste away from malnutrition due to wearing your food on your face most of the time instead of putting it in your mouth, you skinny-assed white boy."

No wonder it took so long for the second baby to get here, if that's Poke's way of saying something nice, he thinks but is careful not say.

"So. BFF's. And that's all I know," and he stares at Ray meaningfully.

Oh.

_Oh._

Okay.

"Thanks, Tony," Ray says, feeling a little funny.

"Thanks for what?" Poke shrugs, but he claps Ray on the back and Ray takes a quick drag of his cigar to blow a smokescreen around his face because, Christ... He's glad it's nearly dark outside now.

They're quiet for a minute while they drink and smoke. And it's not exactly awkward silence, Ray thinks, but it is a little weird.

"Hey, Poke. So you've been checking out my ass?"

"I did, Ray and--

The screen door squeaks and Brad joins them on the porch, glass in one hand and holding up the bottle of whiskey in the other. "Are you girls done gossiping and braiding each other's hair while pretending to be macho cigar-smoking men?" he asks when he refills their glasses.

Poke and Ray grin at each other.


End file.
